TITLE: LGBTQ+ & Adoptee Identity

DESCRIPTION

Amplifying the voices and experiences of the Adoptee/LGBTQ+ community. We will be discussing: Intersectional Identity

• Sexual orientation impacting coming out of the fog

• Dating/Adoption and sexual identity

• Coming out to Adoptive Families

• Sexual orientation impacting adoptees engaging in reunion... and much more.

PANELISTS

Mark Hagland was born in South Korea in 1960 and adopted by American parents, and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a professional journalist, and has been living in Chicago since 1981. He has spent two decades participating in in-person and online forums around transracial adoption. He has spoken dozens of times at a variety of in-person conferences, on such topics as transracial adoptee identity formation, physical self-image issues, birth-country visits, and transracial adoptees' social relationships. He has also written articles and has contributed to several anthologies of books written by teams of adult transracial adoptees, including Parenting As Adoptees, Outsiders Within, and The Unknown Culture Club.

Chad Chisholm is a domestic adoptee born in the 1980’s. His commercial photography business keeps him busy in his studio and on location. Married to his husband for 6 years, together for 11 years, Chad has been out since he was 17 years old. Chad actively participates in conversations and committees serving the LGBTQ+ communities. Chad has contributed to various LGBTQ+ platforms, and publications as well as serving on the Visit Denver LGBT committee. Navigating the adoption narrative, Chad enjoys volunteering his photographic talents to the Heart Gallery in Colorado, where he currently lives.

Summer Lane is a transracial adoptee, adopted into a closed private adoption. She was born in Arizona, raised in Wyoming and currently lives in Seattle. Currently, Summer is spending her time in Hood River, Oregon kiteboarding taking time to ponder a possible career change. Summer has been in reunion with her biological family for over 15 years. She identifies as a cis gendered, polyamorous, pansexual woman. To her, being pansexual, means she is attracted to persons of all genders and orientations. She has come out to many people in her adoptive family but not her biological family. She is excited to be on this panel to share her story.

Daniel Gyu (he/they) was adopted transracially from South Korea at 4 months old to a family who raised him in Chicago. He is currently living in Portland where he is an artist, educator and community organizer. Daniel has worked as a teaching artist for the Right Brain Initiative, a cultural worker and placemaking artist for the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon, and most recently helped create Yeondae, an action-oriented social justice collective building solidarity for Korean American adoptees. Daniel looks forward to being on this panel to share how being a queer transracial adoptee has opened him up to an exponentially complicated web of intersectional identities and how that has fueled his passion to impact reform to institutional systems.